Lonely Thoughts
by QueenOfBeans
Summary: Penelo's thoughts about her unlikely group of companions, especially one of them... Fluff, one-sided Penelo x Basch. Complete!


_My first FF Fanfiction. I'm just trying to get into writing it, so this one-shot is basically an experiment._

_Just Penelo's POV with a little bit of fluff._

_Please rate and review!_

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They didn't belong here. How did two Orphans from Rabanastre end up on a quest to save the world? No matter how hard she thought about it, it did not make sense. All she wanted was to live a peaceful life and know the people she loved in safety. However, this was no easy task as one of her closest friends happened to be Vaan. Of course he got himself into all sorts of trouble, but teaming up with a couple of skypirates, a supposedly dead traitor, and an also supposedly dead princess was big even for his standards. So how did Penelo end up aboard?

She sighed as she undid her braids, preparing to retire to her tent. It was a warm night in Jahara, the stars illuminated the sky enough to render the big campfire in the center of the village useless. They were safe at the moment, and it was in nights like these that her thoughts began to wander. Why was she here? This was not her war. She was not even a warrior. Did Vaan ever consider her feelings about their journey, about the responsibilities that now lasted on their shoulders? Sometimes she just wanted to scream and run away, hide in a cave until all this was over.  
Penelo felt like a burden. Even Vaan's swordsmanship had improved so much that Basch tried to convince him to join the Order once this was over. And she? She was good enough to keep watch at night, and carry her Majesty's luggage.

When the pirates and the knight discussed tactics, she was usually too busy chasing Vaan around the camp, trying to keep him from doing something stupid, to even learn where they were going. So she just followed them, fighting their battles, patching up their wounds as good as she could, secretly wondering what exactly they were doing. She just hoped the 'adults' in her group had a plan, and that all of this fighting and killing would one day be over.

It was late and the laughter and voices near the campfires in the village died down one by one. The young woman stretched her limbs and strolled to the edge of town, away from the fires that stung in her eyes.

Her mind wandered back home, to her friends and family. To the people who had died during the war. Sometimes she felt guilty. Why was she still there when her brothers and parents were long gone? What right did she have to live, why had she been chosen over her loved ones?

Her feet moved by themselves, away from the last few voices and deeper into the dark. The full moon led her way as she strolled along the edge of the village, her feet moving by themselves as she contemplated her fate.

Whatever was done was done now, there was no going back and the future lay in their hands. Penelo knew she was not a good fighter, so she had offered to study healing magic instead to be able to aid the group regardless. It was not much, but it was the best she could do, and it made her feel a little less useless.

Her companions had grown on her, even the princess with her snarky attitude. Balthier had been a gentleman from the very first day on, ever since he tried to keep her out of trouble. He caused quite the opposite through his actions, but came to her rescue nevertheless – even though they did not even know each other. He was good to her, and she loved him for it, the same way she loved Vaan. Balthier was a Ladies' man. There were dozens of women lying at his feet, and Penelo had almost become one of them – but then she saw the other side to this man, the fragile, vulnerable person he hid under the mask of Balthier. Her respect for him only grew, but any romantic feelings she might have been developing vanished at that moment.

Fran was just... Fran. There really was no other way to say this. She was a friend, maybe even the person she felt most comfortable with in her group. This might be due to the fact that Fran always kept the secrets Penelo told her, or that she always had an open ear and good advice when the young girl needed it the most. She doubted that she would have kept her sanity had it not been for Fran.

The Princess was a different story altogether. Although she seemed to warm up to the orphans, she always eyed them with some kind of disgust, as if they were contaigeous. Penelo could not really blame her. She had grown up in a castle, her babysitters had been knights of the order, and she had been married to a Prince. Orphans just don't fit into that kind of life. Pirates, on the other hand, had this romantic element, so it was not surprising that her Majesty befriended Balthier. Penelo even thought she had noticed some kinds of sparks between the two of them, but then again, there were sparks between Balthier and almost every woman they ever encountered. It seemed as if even royality wasn't immune to his charms.

And then there was Basch.

Captain Basch von Ronsenburg, The knight. The traitor. The kingslayer. The man who, despite all he has been through, was still loyal to his king, and to a country that was not his own.

Penelo knew little about the man, and how he came to be a knight of the Order of Dalmasca. She knew he was from a nation that no longer existed, taken over by the Archadian Empire before she was even born. However, she knew that, even though he was nobility, and spent his life with royality, he never looked at her the way the Lady Ashe or even Captain Azelas did. To him, she was no baggage, she was no vermin. She was just Penelo, a member of his team. Someone to trust, someone he could rely on, and someone he would fight to protect.

Vaan had told her in what state they had found the Captain. Her imagination ran wild as she heard his story... betrayed by his own brother, kept in a cage for two long years, and yet – here he was, brave and strong as ever, never giving up. She admired him, and she was silently praying every day to be a little more like him. A little braver, a little stronger, a little more confident. No matter what hardships he faced, Captain Basch never surrendered. Even when the Lady Ashe did not want him around, he was there, fighting her battles.

It was he Penelo wanted to make proud. She had no family left, and she cared little what other people thought of her, but ever since she met Basch she had tried to impress him. Why, she could not tell, only that his appraising glance in her direction was what made her try harder every day, what made her go on when she wanted to give up. Whenever he smiled at her after she healed one of his wounds, her stomach made a small flip, whenever he praised her prowess in battle, she could not stop smiling for ages.

He was very aware of his surroundings. When Penelo was depressed or sad, he would not confront her, but give her a weapon and spar with her. He would not offer a shoulder to cry on, but distraction and focus on something else, something important. It was impossible for her to hide her feelings from him. Whenever something bothered her, he always knew.

That might have been one of the reasons why Penelo snuck away from the group in the middle of the night. Because she knew, he would notice.

A small smile tucked at her lips as she heard the heavy footsteps coming closer. It made her feel important and special to know that a man as great as Basch von Ronsenburg cared about her wellbeing. That he cared enough to follow her into the darkness to ask her if she was alright.

"Penelo?" His dark voice sent shivers down her spine. She loved it when he called her name. His tall shape, illuminated by the stars, was finally close enough for them both to identify each other's faces. His face relaxed visibly as he saw her smile. "Hello, Basch. It's a beautiful night, isn't it?"

The knight nodded in reply. "Aye, it is. Do you mind if I sit with you for a while?"

She shook her head and let her hair fall into her face, knowing that despite the darkness, he could probably make out her blush. And while he sat down beside her, she enjoyed the silence between them, broken only by the fast beating of her own heart.


End file.
